Throughout history and across cultural divisions, a variety of different ceremonies and memorials have been used to commemorate the death of a loved one. Indeed, ceremonies and memorials have become integral for helping the living cope with the death and for commemorating the loved one for future generations. For instance, traditional western ceremonies typically involve a funeral home visitation, a burial, and a wake, with the grave site being marked by a headstone. In the case of cremation, ashes are often placed in a sealed urn. For many historically significant individuals, their deaths are sometimes commemorated with a memorial, such as a statue, which is often dedicated years after that individual's death.
While traditional ceremonies and memorializations are without a doubt important, they do have several shortcomings. For instance, visitors have traditionally been required to be physically located at the ceremony or the memorial to view or reflect on the individual. If you are not physically present at the ceremony or the memorial, you cannot share in the achievements and memories associated with the individual. In the case of many ceremonies, the duration is limited to the actual time of the ceremony. Any reflection after the ceremony is limited to the memories of those who actually attended. A further shortcoming is the relatively limited scope of the commemoration. Visitations typically involve a eulogy and memories shared between the participants. Outside the spoken words of the visitors, however, little or no other memories are shared. In the case of traditional memorials, including headstones, urns, statues and the like, memories and messages are usually limited only to a few words etched in stone or on a plaque.
Beyond the death industry, many things such as businesses, buildings, pets, and the like are also commemorated. In addition, the memories and achievements of living individuals are often compiled, either by others or by the person themselves, usually in the form of a scrap book or biography. However, such commemorations are typically fraught with the same shortcomings listed above. Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus recording life stories which solves one or more the problems found in the prior art.